TO FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTRIBUTIONS of all who made this volume possible would require perpetual effort. However, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge those who provided me with inspiration, instructions, and guidance.
My brother Archie was among the first to inspire in me a love of learning. Thank you, Archie, for pushing me to think deeply and pursue higher education. I love you. I thank my mother, Ernestine Underwood, for her emotional support and encouragement. I must also thank my father, Milton Underwood, for encouraging and instilling in me a sense of perseverance and focus. I owe a huge thank you to Waldo Johnson, Margaret Lombe, Ajita Robinson, and James Herbert Williams. Without their guidance and support this project would not have been possible. I must also acknowledge my handball partner and friend Stephan Estrada, who, over casual conversation at the handball courts, coined the term “inorganic communities.”
My ability to see the big picture and recognize the unobvious connections between macro factors and the health of children in public housing is the direct result of my training in sociology at St. Louis University. I must also acknowledge the faculty at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis for my ability to use advanced research methodological and analytic procedures to answer empirical research questions. They also provided me with excellent theoretical training and insights. I must also acknowledge the National Institute of Drug Abuse for supporting my continuous statistical training through the Child Health Disparity Center at Howard University. I am indebted to Howard University, where my ideas on how context matters matured and were nurtured. I would also like to acknowledge the Provost’s Office at Howard University, the Silberman Foundation, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparity for supporting my professional development and sponsoring the study on which this volume is partially based.